MINUTES IF THE

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

MAY 19, 2009

 

 

Chairperson Lu Peet called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 6:30PM.  The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited.  Peet asked for a roll call to establish a quorum, verification of Public Notice by the Clerk-Treasurer and a Motion to approve the May Agenda

 

Roll call taken all present except Donna Porter (arrived 6:55PM) , Motion ( McGee /Meinke)                  to approve the May Agenda as presented.  Motion carried.  The agenda for this meeting is as follows:

 

NOTICE

TOWN OF BARNES

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

MAY 19, 2009 AT 6:30PM

AGENDA

Call the Regular Board Meeting to order at 6:30PM

Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

Roll Call to establish a quorum/Verification of Public Notice/Motion to approve the May Agenda

Approve minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting and Motion to dispense with reading of the minutes.

Treasurer’s Report           

Voucher’s Approval

Clerk Correspondence

Open Bids and approval by Board for Crack Sealing

Public Comment Session – 3 Minute limit for those not on the agenda              

Citizen’s Request for Action:

Request for a Community Garden at the Town Hall Park

Lion’s Club request to store new griddle at the Town Hall kitchen

Announcement of the Barnes Community Newsletter, the “Barnes Blog”        

Department Head Reports:

                Highway

                                Approval of Transfer site compactor lease                                                               

                Cemetery             

                Fire and Ambulance Department

                                Approval of new hire for Ambulance and Fire Departments                  

                Constable

Committee Reports

                Eurasian Water Milfoil

                                Request to place gravel at Sand Bar Boat Landing for lake monitoring by                                         the Army Corps of Engineers

                                Approval of Lake Monitors and coordinator

                Town Hall Maintenance Inspection results

                                Approval of bid by Andry Rasmussen to move pressure tank into storage                                        room of Town office

                Driveway Inspection committee assignments with Jack Meinke and Mitch McGee        as Board liaisons

                Timber Harvest  

                                Cutting and caretaking of town property at Tomahawk Park and lake area                                      by Dan Cobb and a DNR representative

Approval to change the “Welcome to Barnes” signs and to add “2009 Lake Stewardship Award” to the bottom of the sign            

Land Use Planning Commission

Zoning:

1)        Class A Special Use Permit request by Michael O’Neil to place a 12’x12’ log cabin on his property zoned F-1 at 5635 E Eight Mile Lake Rd

2)       Class A Special Use request by William Wolf to continue to keep a RV camper on his property at 52250 Pease Road for another two years.

Selection of Board of Review alternates

Adoption of Resolution # 09-02 to oppose the proposed changes to the Wisconsin Prevailing Wage Law

Public Comment Session – 3 minute limit for those not on the Agenda

Issues Timeline Update

 

 

All Department Heads are encouraged to be at the Regular Board Meetings

All Department Heads and Committee Heads are to submit a written report to the clerk

by Friday evening prior to the Board Meeting.

 

The Town Board reserves the right to solicit information from

Department heads and Committee heads only, without opening the floor to discussion.

Any persons requiring special needs for handicap services please contact the Clerk-Treasurer

Elaine J. Brustad Barnes Town Clerk-Treasurer 

Dated this 14th day of May, 2009

 

 

 

Approve minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting and Motion to dispense with reading of the minutes:

Motion (McGee/Meinke) to approve the minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting and Motion to dispense with reading of the minutes.  Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Fund

 

 

Checking Balance from last meeting

 

$24,912.31

Receipts

 

 

 

 

$85,887.51

Check #'s 23695-23782

 

 

($28,925.65)

April Direct tax payments ck #s 327-330

 

($4,946.80)

Service Charge April

 

 

 

($19.61)

Interest Earned April

 

 

 

$10.50

 

CHECKING BALANCE

 

 

$76,918.26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money Market Gen'l Fund Balance from Last Meeting

$392,809.44

Interest earned April

 

YTD Interest $3099.32

$279.59

 

Sub-Total Money Market Gen'l Funds

$393,089.03

Highway Dept. Sinking Fund

 

 

$16,072.92

BES Sinking Fund

 

 

 

$214.05

Park Savings

 

 

 

$14,767.66

Ski Trail Savings

 

dep $5.00

 

$1,245.21

Town Hall Maint & Repair  Fund

 

 

$19,298.20

ACT 102 Fund

 

 

 

$3,957.39

Total all Money Market Funds

 

 

$448,644.46

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hayward Community Credit Union

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savings

 

Interest April $.02

 

$25.07

9 Month CD

Interest April $225.20

 

$100,845.68

9 Month CD

Interest April $225.20

 

$100,845.68

6 Month CD

Interest April $ 94.27

 

$50,354.17

Total Hayward Community Credit Union

 

$252,070.60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL ALL ACCOUNTS

 

$777,633.32

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motion ( Meinke/McGee) to approve the Treasurer’s report.  Motion carried.

 

Voucher’s Approval

Motion ( McGee/ Meinke) to approve the vouchers.  Motion carried.

 

Clerk Correspondence

Brustad said she had received 5 notices to cut  in Sections 18, 28 and 34 of Township 43N, R9W, and Sections 13 and 23 of 45N, Range 9West.

Brustad reported there was an excellent article on the Barnes/Drummond Community Wildfire Protection Plan in the DNR magazine, “Point of Origin” .  Also in the magazine is a write-up on the Barnes Area mock forest fire that took place in September.  She had additional copies of the articles in case someone would like a copy.

 

Open Bids and approval by Board for Crack Sealing

Brustad said only one bid was received.

Chair Lu Peet read the bid from Fahrner asphalt sealers:  $28,320.00 per specs received. 

Motion ( Webb/Meinke) to approve Fahrner Asphalt’s bid in the amount of $28320.00                          for crack sealing. Roll call vote taken, all yes, (Porter absent).  Jerry Witt said this was much lower than what was originally quoted in person.  He checked the bid to make sure everything was included, and it was.  Motion carried.

 

Public Comment Session – 3 Minute limit for those not on the agenda  Chairperson Peet said this was a new agenda item, she wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity to speak on matters that were on the agenda.   There was no one who wished to speak.

 

Citizen’s Request for Action:

                Request for a Community Garden at the Town Hall Park

A letter received from Dana Hodowanic and Mike Alston of M and M Greenhouse was read proposing a community garden in the town park off CTH N. 

Motion (Webb/McGee) to deny the proposed request for a community garden in the town park.  A rental fee cannot be charged in the town park for its use as it is owned by its residents.  The area behind the Quonset hut, which was suggested, has high traffic during the day from the road crew which could pose a hazard.  The board thought the idea was a great one, but not in the town park.  Meinke suggested maybe using the industrial park, although there is no water there.  He suggested they work on a better plan and the board will work with them.  A letter should be written to Ms Hodowanic and Mr. Alston thanking them for their idea but it cannot be done in the town park.  If they work on a better plan over the summer and fall, then present it to the board it would be ready to go for next year. 

 

                Lion’s Club request to store new griddle at the Town Hall kitchen

Dave Pederson of the Lion’s Club said they were thinking of purchasing a newer griddle to be used for the pancake breakfast but had no room to physically store the griddle.  If they could store it at the hall it could be available for anyone to use if they wished.  Motion (Webb / McGee ) to approve the Lions Club storing the new gas griddle in the town hall kitchen.  Chairperson Peet said there were problems with the kitchen,  as we have been cited by the fire inspectors for not having an Ansell System in place.  They approved the Lion’s club having their pancake breakfast but only after we ordered another fire extinguisher that could be used on a grease fire.  There are many problems we’ve encountered with the hall and the kitchen so until a decision is made on what all needs to be done the griddle cannot be used in the kitchen but it can be stored there. 

 

Announcement of the Barnes Community Newsletter, the “Barnes Blog”        

Chairperson Lu Peet said she and Sharon Hough of the Business Association have been working on a newsletter that will be published once a month and will have community news and events, obituaries, and business information, church information and events, and town news and events.  She is working on it personally, there is no cost to the town.  The first edition will be out May 26th.  If anyone has news they would like printed please see her. 

 

Department Head Reports:

                Highway

 In the past month we have been repairing pulp hauler damage to many of our sand roads. 40 loads are coming out of the Dana subdivision. 20 plus loads will be hauled off the Moen road.

 Water is on in the Town Park and the restrooms can be now used.

 I have disced up the cemetery and am awaiting direction for further work. We also removed the dirt and sand pile to an out of site location.

 The Marten road project is coming along on schedule with the gravel starting to be hauled today. The road should be done in time for the holiday week end.   Highway 27 will be closed from County Highway Y south to the county line beginning the 26th of May and will be closed until the 24th or 25th of June. 

 

                                Approval of Transfer site compactor lease

This was addressed at a previous meeting and needed to be approved in order to go ahead with the project.  Jerry Witt asked that this be tabled so he could meet with the people and get a diagram for placement. 

Motion (McGee /Meinke) to not  approve the lease purchase of the Transfer Site compactor at this time.  Motion carried.               

                               

                Cemetery

Bud Pease reported no activity since the last meeting.  Jerry has been up there working, but they need someone with a rototiller to break up the sod.  They have been also talking about putting a fence at the Cemetery.  One of the members is working on getting prices.  He would like to do that next year.

 

                Fire and Ambulance Department

Since the last Town board meeting the ambulance has had three calls.

1 - Transport to St. Marys

1 – No transport

1 – ATV accident in Town of Highland Lifeflighted out

 

The amendment for the ops plan for EKG is moving forward.  We now have to amend our ops plan for our Protocols that Dr. Wesley has put in place.  Phone has been installed in ambulance just waiting for WITC to line up the training and the EKG to arrive.  All EMT’s have to report to Iron River on 06-12-09 to meet with Dr. Wesley to check off on their skills with him personally.

 

The Fire Department had 1 run which was mutual aid to Highland along with the Ambulance for ATV accident in case rescue sled was needed.  It was cancelled en-route. 

 

Old radio out of ambulance has been installed in Engine one as the one in there broke and was unfixable for talk around simplex frequencies. 

Starting May 27th Highway 27 will be shut down for through traffic to Hayward.

There are two new members to approve for ambulance and Fire Department.

 

                                Approval of new hires for Ambulance and Fire Departments

 

Motion( Webb/Porter) to approve Benjamin Glinski for the ambulance and fire departments, and Deanna Hughes for the ambulance department.  Motion carried.

               

                Constable

Brustad read Constable O’Keefe’s report:  There were 4 house alarms from the Sheriff, 4 bear complaints, contacted DNR, 2 check welfare on elderly residents, 1 illegal dumping on County Highway N, 1 damage to property, watercraft damaged by careless fisherman casting at dock on the Middle, 1 deer hit on Highway 27, 1 animal complaint, unable to locate, 1 theft, license plates stolen from vehicle at Buck N Bass resort, referred to Sheriff.

 

Committee Reports

                Eurasian Water Milfoil

Ingemar Ekstrom reported on the Volunteer appreciation luncheon held on the 1st of May.  They have a new coordinator this year and he has been working out very well.  There will be a meeting Saturday, June 20th for residents of Sand Bar and Tomahawk Lakes to get up dated on the research project.  Members of the DNR and the Army Corps of Engineers will be present to answer questions.  They are looking at a preliminary management plan for Sand Bar lake for the year 2011.

 

                                Request to place gravel at Sand Bar Boat Landing for lake monitoring by the Army Corps of Engineers

Since the lakes have come down 6-8 feet in the last few years the landing at Sand Bar, which is a private landing, needs gravel placed at the end of the concrete pad in order for the Army Corp of Engineers and the DNR to continue to use the lake for monitoring.  A permit has been received from the DNR for the placement,  and they waived the permit fee of $250.00 to ensure the project gets done.  The work the highway crew would be doing would be eligible as a donation towards the grant.

 

Motion (McGee/Meinke) to approve the request to place gravel at the Sand Bar lake boat landing.  Roll call vote taken, all responded yes.  Jerry will need to keep track of his time and costs as a match for the grant.  Motion carried.

 

                                Approval of Lake monitors and coordinator

There were 5 lake monitors hired for this season, two of whom will be alternates, and the one coordinator position.  The lake monitors are Barbara Larson, Scott, Bell and Kenneth Higgins with Allen Basacker and Sabino Perez-Hernandez as alternates.  Patrick Vanderhoof is the new coordinator.

 

Motion (McGee/Meinke) to approve the hiring of the lake monitors, Barbara Larson, Scott Bell, Kenneth Higgins, Allen Basacker, and Sabino Perez-Hernandez, and the hiring of the coordinator, Patrick Vanderhoof. Roll call vote taken, all responded yes.  Motion carried.

 

                Town Hall Maintenance Inspection results

Chair Lu Peet asked Greg Martin to talk on some of the findings from the maintenance inspection of the town hall.  Mitch McGee, Lu Peet, Greg Martin and Mark Sclavi were present for the meetings.  The roof in the hall is coming down and the walls are going outward.  There are restraining poles holding the walls in.  They have been cited to remove the pressure tank from the well pit and filling the pit in,  the handicap accessible ramps are not to code and will have to be totally redone.  In the offices there is little or no insulation in the floor joists, the windows are bad and need to be replaced.  The kitchen is not up to code  and in order to hold events such as the pancake breakfast a new Ansell System will have to be installed, which is very costly.  Actually anything in addition to the stove that is used to cook on will be in violation.  The fire inspectors are allowing the Lion’s to hold their pancake breakfast this year in the hall, but until it is corrected they will have to find another place.  The dishwasher is currently broke and parts cannot be obtained for this model.  A new one will cost around $4000.00.  There are other problems as well and they have just begun to inspect the premises.  Peet said the committee will be meeting again and will come to the board with what all needs to be repaired.  At this point it just may be cheaper to replace, rather than repair. 

 

                                Approval of bid by Andry Rasmussen to move pressure tank into storage room of Town office

Motion (McGee/Porter) to put the bid by Andry Rasmussen on hold until we find out the full scope of what needs to be done at the Town Hall.  Motion carried.  Brustad will call Rasmussen and let them know it is on hold for the time being.

 

                Driveway Inspection committee assignments with Jack Meinke and Mitch McGee as Board liaisons.  This is an additional “Committee” assignment from the Chairperson with the addition of Mitch McGee along with Jack Meinke as Board liaisons. 

 

                Timber Harvest - Cutting and caretaking of town property at Tomahawk park and lake area by Dan Cobb and a DNR representative

Dan Cobb spoke on the project.  The DNR representative was called out for a fire emergency.  Cobb said he recommended the town do something about the property in Tomahawk Park and Tomahawk Lake area before the trees get too bad.  The contract can state any terms we wish.  If we want the loggers to not cross the ski trail he suggested putting that in the minutes so he can put that in the contract.  He presented the Board with a spec sheet which outlines the area he was recommending and also what he suggested be put in a contract with a logger.  Motion (McGee/Webb) to approve the cutting and caretaking of town property with keeping with the specs on the yellow sheet presented by Dan Cobb.  Also the logger is to keep off the Ski Trail completely or they will have to fix it. Motion carried. 

 

Motion (Porter/McGee) to open the floor to discussion.  Motion carried.

Ingemar Ekstrom said he used the trail a lot and wanted to know if trees and branches fall on the trail will they clean it up.  Cobb said he can address that to the logger with a contract and a performance bond.  If they are told not to cross the trail they won’t do it.  Everything the board wants should be addressed in the minutes so he can put it in the contract with the logger.  They can also do a buffer on either side of the trail, he would recommend a 25 foot buffer on either side.  On #7, the park road down to the boat landing he suggested a buffer width of 25 feet also.  The Board agreed with that , and a 25 foot buffer along each side of the ski trail as well as the sliding hill area.  All damage to the ski trail will need to be repaired.  

Motion (Porter/McGee) to close the floor to discussion.  Motion carried.

 

Approval to change the “Welcome to Barnes” signs and to add “2009 Lake Stewardship Award” to the bottom of the sign

Peet said she would like to change the signs to read “Established 1905” instead of what is currently there “1905 to 2005”.  She said it looked like we died in 2005 and the town was no longer here.  She also wanted approval to add a sign underneath which could be on hooks saying “2009 Lake Stewardship Award Winner”  and this could be changed to reflect other awards or recognitions.  Motion Porter/McGee) to change the sign to say “established 1905” and add another sign at the bottom for awards.  This should be put on next month’s agenda with the costs for the sign changing. Motion carried.

 

Land Use Planning Commission

Dave Pease reported two items were presented at the meeting last Thursday.  O’Neil wants to place a 12x12 log cabin on his site which is zoned F-1.  The request meets all zoning requirements, there is a septic on site.  This would be the primary structure.  The Commission recommends approval of this request.

William Wolf is requesting an extension of his permit to keep his RV on his property for another two years.  The Commission sees no problem with this request especially since Mr. Wolf intends to build as soon as he possibly can. 

 

Zoning:

      1)      Class A Special Use Permit request by Michael O’Neil to place a 12’x12’ log cabin on his property zoned F-1 at 5635 E Eight Mile Lake Rd

 

Motion (Meinke/Porter) to approve the Class A Special Use  permit request by Michael O’Neil to place a 12’x12’ log cabin on his property at 5635 E Eight Mile Lake Road.  Motion carried.   

 

2)       Class A Special Use by William Wolf  to continue to keep a RV camper on his property at 52250 Pease Road for another two years.

 

Motion ( Porter/McGee) to approve the Special Use request by William Wolf to continue to keep a RV camper on his property at 52250 Pease Road for another two years. Motion carried.

 

Selection of Board of Review alternates

Motion( Meinke/McGee) to approve Elaine Brustad, Gene Ratzel as Board of Review Alternates for

three years.  The Board felt only two alternates were needed.  Motion carried.

 

Adoption of Resolution # 09-02 to oppose the proposed changes to the Wisconsin Prevailing Wage Law

 

Motion (Webb/Porter) to approve the Resolution #09-02 to oppose the proposed changes to the Wisconsin Prevailing Wage Law.   The resolution will be sent to the Governor and legislators.  Motion carried.

 

Public Comment Session – 3 minute limit for those not on the Agenda

Jerry Hess representing the Barnes Community Church wanted to invite anyone in the community to dinner and the movie “Fireproof” on June 11th, starting at 5:30.  There is no charge for this event.

Donna Porter said she is still checking on a swimming instructor for this season.  The Tomahawk park will be open for swimming this summer. 

 

Issues Timeline Update

Town owned land – Discussed Tomahawk Lake area and will contract to cut that area

Town Hall Maintenance plan – will meet again within a week or so

Transfer site compactor – Jerry to get a plan together with Lu –on next month’s agenda for discussion

Re-Appointments – change BOR alternates to 2 instead of 3

Roads – Jerry on schedule with Martin Road

 

Motion (Webb/Meinke) to adjourn the meeting of May19, 2009.  Motion carried. 

The meeting adjourned at 8:45PM.

 

Respectfully Submitted

 

 

 

Elaine J. Brustad,

Clerk-Treasurer

dated this 5th day of June, 2009